State Mercury-Added Product Collection Plan Information

Collection Plan Requirements for Mercury-added Products

If you are a manufacturer of a mercury-added product that is sold or distributed in the states of Connecticut, Louisiana, and/or Rhode Island, you are required to establish a collection and recycling system when the product is ready to be discarded.

What is the Purpose of a Collection System Plan?

The purpose of a mercury-added product collection plan is to institutionalize a system to collect and recycle mercury-added products from business, institutions, and households at the end of the product's useful life. A functioning collection system minimizes releases during waste handling and prevents these waste materials from being disposed in landfills or incinerated.

Who Must Develop & Implement the Collection System Plan?

A manufacturer who is offering for sale or is distributing for promotional purposes in Connecticut, Louisiana, and/or Rhode Island any mercury-added product must develop and implement a Collection System Plan for collecting the products at the end of their useful life.

The following products are exempt from the mercury collection system requirements:

Formulated mercury-added products intended to be consumed in use, including, but not limited to reagents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, other laboratory chemicals, biological products or any substance that may be lawfully sold over the counter with or without a prescription under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, 21 USC 301 et. seq.

Fabricated mercury-added products where the only mercury is contained in a component that cannot feasibly be removed by the purchaser including, but not limited to, electronic products whose only mercury-added component is a mercury-added lamp used for backlighting provided such manufacturer or trade association maintains a web-based service to provide information on recycling and safe disposal of such products.

Photographic films and papers.

Mercury-containing lamps if the manufacturer or trade association maintains a toll-free telephone and internet-based service to provide information on recycling and safe disposal of such lamps and directs consumers to such telephone numbers and services on package labels.

Mercury-added products for which the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner and/or the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director determines a collection system plan is not feasible.

Mercury-added products with a code or date of manufacture indicating they were manufactured prior to January 1, 2004.

Motor vehicles with a code or date of manufacture prior to October 1, 2003 in Connecticut.

Decisions regarding approval of mercury-added product collection system plans are made by each individual state environmental agency. Upon approval of a collection system plan, the state sends a letter to the applicant detailing the approval, the period of time over which it applies, and the schedule for reporting on the effectiveness of the proposed collection system.

Use of the IMERC process is strongly encouraged to avoid duplication of effort by all concerned, but is not required. Companies may choose to submit collection plans to individual states, and should do so if they wish to designate some or the entire plan as confidential business information (CBI), since IMERC is not equipped to handle CBI submittals. Where more than one state receives a plan covering the same mercury-added products, the states will consult extensively with each other to achieve an appropriate level of consistency across jurisdictions.

What are the Required Biennial Reports on the Effectiveness of the Collection System?

Not later than July 1, 2006 and biennially thereafter, the person who has submitted the Collection System Plan must file a report to the IMERC on the effectiveness of their collection system. The report shall include an estimate of the amount of mercury that was collected, the capture rate for the mercury-added products or components, the results of the other performance measures included in the manufacturer's collection system plan, and such other information as the states' environmental agencies may request. The Agencies may make such reports available to the public.

How Can You Revise a Collection System Plan?

To revise a Collection System Plan, the applicant should identify, in writing, any known impediments that have impacted the effectiveness of the collection system and what corrective measures may be appropriate. The Agencies will then review the submission and determine if the corrective measures are acceptable and should be implemented.

For more information about collection plan requirements for mercury-added products, contact